NDC, PNOC Renewables seal mini-hydropower deal

The National Development Co. (NDC), an attached agency of the Department of Trade and Industry, has sealed an agreement with PNOC Renewables Corp. (PNOC RC) to create a mini-hydropower plant in Rizal, Nueva Ecija.

Under the memorandum of agreement, the two agencies will develop,
commercialize, operate, and maintain a 1-megawatt (MW) mini-hydropower plant within the National Irrigation Administration’s existing irrigation infrastructure in Rizal.

The Rizal mini-hydropower project is the initial undertaking of the partnership. The PNOC RC has identified other hydropower projects that could generate a total of 20 MW, in a similar undertaking with NDC.

NDC General Manager Ma. Lourdes Rebueno said the NDC investment amounting to some P45 million, represents a 50 percent share of the total required capital of the Rizal hydropower project.

NDC’s investment serves as a catalyst for private investors to undertake the supply chain gap in hydropower. Rebueno said construction would begin August this year.
The Rizal hydropower project is located at the Pampanga River Irrigation System Main Canal, which is downstream of the Rizal Diversion dam in Nueva Ecija.